Steven Siwek
Staff Writer
Waves continue their winning ways by winning their third-straight tournament at the AT&T Invitational over the weekend.
They say “the third time is a charm” — and so it was for the Pepperdine women’s volleyball team last weekend. The Waves have dominated in three consecutive weekend tournaments to post a perfect 9-0 record. This past weekend the Waves won all their sets at the Nevada AT&T Invitational, giving them a total of seven shutouts during their season-opening nine-game win streak. One word that describes Pepperdine’s stellar performance last weekend is “defense.” The Waves defense was outstanding to say the least. They never let any team win a set against them, but more importantly they held each of their opponents to hitting percentages of less than .100.
“We have spent a lot of time working on our defense,” said Coach Nina Matthies. “We are definitely feeling better as a team.”
The Waves began the tournament against a focused UC Davis team. The Aggies concentrated on keeping Julie Rubenstein, the nation’s leader in kills, to just eight kills in the entire match.
“Our team has four great killers,” Rubenstein said. “We work together really well and when one of us is doing well the defense usually picks up against that teammate, but that just leaves the door open for the rest of us to get kills.”
Rubenstein’s supporting cast kept Pepperdine in control. After a tie in the first set the Waves looked to Lilla Frederick’s solo block and Rachel Lumsden’s kill to finish off the Aggies. UC Davis had difficulty competing with Pepperdine’s strong defense in the second and third sets, as the Waves held the Aggies to a .031 hitting percentage and tallied a season-high 11 blocks
“It felt great,” Frederick said. “We played hard.”
The Waves quickly defeated the Aggies 3-0 (26-24, 25-15, 25-17).
In Pepperdine’s second match against 2007 NCAA tournament powerhouse Missouri, the Waves gained the momentum early, hitting at a .706 clip in the first set. Frederick had a match-high 12 kills, while Rubenstein added her second double-double of the year, and Freshman libero Stevi Robinson had a match-high 17 digs. Defense once again proved to be Pepperdine’s strength, as they held the Tigers to a .069 hitting percentage.
After sweeping Missouri 3-0 (25-15, 25-23, 25-18), the Waves moved on to the final match to play host Nevada.
Pepperdine’s dominance continued against the Wolf Pack. In two of the three sets, the Waves held Nevada to a negative hitting percentage, and the Wolf Pack finished the match hitting .012. In the match, freshman middle blocker Kim Hill had a season-high 12 kills and an impressive .733 individual hitting percentage to help her team to another 3-0 sweep (25-17, 25-23, 25-17).
“I hadn’t been playing well this season,” Hill said. “It was so exciting to get out of the slump.”
For the third weekend in a row the Waves have taken home the tournament trophy and for the third weekend in a row Rubenstein has won tournament MVP honors. Joining her this week on the all-tournament team were junior setter Kiah Fiers and junior outside hitter Rachel Lumsden.
“I’ve said this before, and it truly is an honor, but there is no way it would happen without everyone else,” Rubenstein said of her MVP award.
The Waves’ 9-0 start is the third best in school history. The 1976 team started their season 10-0 and the 1997 team began 13-0.
“Our girls are getting better and better,” Matthies said. “Kim (Hill) and Cassi (Chamberlain) are feeling more comfortable in their game and that is making us better. It’s so good to have other people to go to during a game.”
Pepperdine will look to continue its winning fashion this weekend as it finally hosts its first home tournament, the Pepperdine Asics Classic. The Waves opening against UC Santa Barbara tomorrow night at 7:30pm at Firestone Fieldhouse and continue Saturday 11am against Cal State Northridge and 7:30pm versus Texas State. Look for some exciting action this weekend and be sure to come out and support as the Waves look to win the trophy four weekends in a row.
“I want to tell everyone to come out,” Coach Matthies said. “I think everyone will be proud of our team. This weekend the teams are solid and we are in for some exciting volleyball.”
09-18-2008
